On a section of the Great Wall, Xu Shiji wiped his face full of blood, and his armor turned red. He looked at the curled sword, and then at the Turkic soldiers receding like a tide. His face was not relaxed at all, but instead he frowned.
meditation.
Since the Turks reached the Great Wall, they launched a frenzied attack, regardless of casualties, and fought extremely fiercely. If the defenses had not been deployed a day in advance and the soldiers had sacrificed their lives, they would not have been able to stop them.
A guerrilla general ran up, clasped his fists in salute, and said anxiously: "General, the crossbow arrows are consumed too quickly, and there are not many left. In the battle just now, a rough estimate is that our army lost at least three thousand, but fortunately the Turks did not get any benefits."
, they lost nearly 10,000 yuan, are they crazy?"
"So what if you're crazy? Kill as expected, pass the order, half of the soldiers stay to rest and monitor the Turks, and the other half of the soldiers go to find some stones. If there are no arrows, use stones to hit them. You can't let the enemy cross the Great Wall even half a step. This is the last resort.
Once the defense line is breached, Chang'an will be in danger." Xu Shiji said murderously.
The guerrilla general solemnly bowed his fists and swallowed the words that followed.
The generals personally go into battle to kill the enemy and boost their morale. What else can they say when the battle is like this?
The Zhonglang general next to him looked forward and said in a deep voice: "General, what the guerrilla general said just now is right. The Turks' fighting style is really crazy. Even if they win, they will suffer heavy losses. What are you trying to do?"
"Perhaps they have a reason to be crazy. The more so, the less likely they are to allow the Turks to cross the Great Wall. Where are the soldiers and horses from Lingzhou and Xiazhou?" Xu Shiji asked rhetorically.
In order to arrive at the Great Wall in advance to set up defenses, Xu Shiji led the imperial court's 20,000 forbidden troops to travel day and night. It was a shame that he did not go with the imperial soldiers, otherwise it would have been a step too late.
"Based on the time, we will arrive early tomorrow morning at the latest."
"No, it's too late. Looking at the Turks' crazy offensive posture, they will have to fight again in an hour at most. The Great Wall is long, and the 20,000 people we brought are not enough. We will send people immediately to rush forward. If you run forward, you will die even if you run to death.
On the Great Wall, go quickly." Xu Shiji shouted coldly.
There were so many military orders on the battlefield that General Zhonglang did not dare to plead for mercy and left in a hurry.
Xu Shiji looked at a large group of Turkic troops in front of him. He was under great pressure. He actually gave up his best field battle, horse fighting, and fought on foot, fighting huge casualties to break the Great Wall defense line. Why on earth?
"Could it be?"
An idea flashed through his mind, and Xu Shiji couldn't help but look to the distant west, but it felt unrealistic. He shook his head and put down his distracting thoughts. Just as he was preparing to inspect the defense and comfort the injured soldiers, a captain hurried over, followed by a chamberlain.
.
Xu Shiji's heart skipped a beat and he hurried forward to greet him.
The chamberlain did not say much, and took out an imperial edict and said: "General Manager, the imperial court has an edict. The imperial army supporting Jincheng County was defeated by the Tubo. The life and death of the general Xue Wanche is unknown. The Tubo rushed out of Lanzhou and rushed to Yuanzhou. Chang'an is in danger.
I hope the general will serve the king quickly."
"What?" Xu Shiji's face changed drastically, and he grabbed the imperial edict and looked at it. Xue Wanche was a fierce general, and he brought with him the elite Imperial Guards. How could he be defeated?
The content is clearly written. The imperial army that besieged Jincheng County was defeated, the Tubo army fought out, and had arrived at Yuanzhou. After Yuanzhou, there were Longzhou, Qizhou, and Chang'an, which was not far away.
Isn’t this a repeat of the humiliation of the Weihe River?
Xu Shiji's face turned livid for a moment, and a thought flashed through his mind - should he be saved or not?
If he leads his troops back to Chang'an, it means that the Turkic army will also go south, and many state capitals south of the Great Wall will be ravaged by Turkic cavalry. The people will be in dire straits, with ten houses and nine empty houses, and he will become a sinner through the ages.
But returning to Chang'an without troops would be a crime of disobedience and genocide.
Thoughts flashed through him quickly. Xu Shiji felt unwilling and asked: "Why? Why is there such a decree? Is there no one in the court? Who suggested it?"
"General, we are just a messenger. How can we understand the important affairs of the court?" the chamberlain said with a bitter face.
Xu Shiji's heart was moved. He opened the imperial edict and looked at the inscription. It was the prince's seal, and there was no jade seal. In other words, this was the prince's intention, not the intention of the current emperor. Although the prince oversees the country, this imperial edict is not a legal edict and can only be
It's the prince's order.
This discovery made Xu Shiji feel reassured and asked: "What is Fang Gong's attitude?"
The chamberlain was shocked by Xu Shiji's murderous gaze, and said quickly: "I heard that my husband contracted an illness during the court meeting, and he took care of it at home and did not go to court. We don't know the specific situation."
"I see!"
Xu Shiji told the leader of the bodyguards around him: "Send some money to the servant and some silver for tea."
"Follow the order!" the guard leader solemnly responded.
"General, are you going to..." The chamberlain became a little nervous.
"There is no need to be afraid. This general will not kill you. Go back and report the truth truthfully. Just say that our army is fighting a bloody battle with the 200,000 Turkic troops and cannot leave the battlefield. Return to Chang'an King Qin and ask the prince to atone for his sins. In addition, this general recommends Niu Jinda, the Minister of War.
As a general, I am responsible for the protection of Chang'an."
"This..." The waiter hesitated for a moment, but did not dare to say anything more and left in a hurry.
"General..."
General Xuanwei beside him shouted worriedly, but stopped talking.
"Do you want to say that the prince is also the king? If you want to inherit the throne in the future, you will settle the accounts with the queen?" Xu Shiji asked clearly. When he nodded, he continued: "Even if the queen settles the accounts, I can't let the Turks go south, let alone this way.
The order was meant to bring chaos to the country and lead to death. It was simply nonsense. How could the King of Qin not hesitate to let the Turks enter the pass? Once the Turks entered the pass and united with Tibet, the Tang Dynasty would be in danger, and the court would not have no troops to use. "
"There must be someone in the court who is stirring up trouble and trying to seize power. But even so, you know the consequences of disobeying orders. Maybe there are people who are eager for you to disobey orders." General Xuanwei reminded in a low voice.
"That won't work. I can die, but the Turks will never enter the customs. If we really want to settle accounts after the fall, I will take everyone to the west to find a way out." Xu Shiji said angrily.
General Xuanwei couldn't help but look to the west, his eyes lit up, and he stopped trying to persuade him.
Xu Shiji was worried about the unstable morale of the army and reminded: "Have you ever thought about why the Turks attacked so madly? Maybe..."
"You mean the King of Han?"
"If that's not the case, what other reason is there?" Xu Shiji asked rhetorically.
"Great general, why didn't I think of this? This news should be spread to boost the morale of the army, but what about my family?" General Xuanwei reminded again.
Xu Shiji waved his hand, with murderous intent surging in his eyes: "The war is unknown, so no one should dare to touch your family. If it is...then don't blame me for being rude."
"With the words of the general, the general will be relieved. The worst he can do is go to the west. The King of Han is benevolent and righteous, and he is most considerate of the soldiers. He is down-to-earth with the King of Han and his brothers." General Xuanwei said solemnly.
"Inspect the camp, prepare to fight again, tell everyone that people can die, but Turks must not let go of anyone who dares to say anything, retreat and behead." Xu Shiji warned in a cold voice.
"Follow the order!"
…
Hezhou Dudu Mansion.
"What, the imperial army was defeated, and the Tubo army went to Yuanzhou? Where is Xue Wanche?"
Li Er stood up suddenly and looked at the person who came to report in disbelief. His face instantly turned livid. Other civil and military officials also looked at the person with shock in their eyes.
"Are you sure?" Changsun Wuji grabbed the person who came to report the news and asked.
The other party quickly explained: "Back to Lord Changsun, don't you dare to talk nonsense about important matters in the army. The general was worried that it was false, so he sent someone to verify it, and then he came to report it. As for General Xue, there is no news yet."
"Your Majesty!"
Changsun Wuji hurriedly said to Li Er who was at the head: "Yuanzhou is not far from Chang'an. I sincerely request you to send troops to hold back the Tibetan army and withdraw the troops back to the court to take charge of the overall situation. In addition, I will issue an imperial edict and order the world to have soldiers and horses diligently."
"Why are you panicking?" Li Er scolded him. After all, he was the emperor. He quickly calmed down and sat down to meditate, his eyes twinkling.
Infected by Li Er's calmness, the others all calmed down, bowed their heads in silence, and kept their own thoughts.
After a while, Li Er said: "Come now, Tuyuhun just wants to entangle our army and cover the Tibetan army's attack on Chang'an. It's a good plan. But if our army retreats, they will follow and chase us. There will be endless troubles and they cannot withdraw. The army
Turn the attack into defense, and also deploy troops to follow and kill the Tibetan army, entangle them, and then send an order back to the court, appoint Niu Jinda as general, and command all the troops in Chang'an to prepare for war."
"According to the order!" Wang De responded quickly.
"Who should be sent as general?" Changsun Wuji asked.
Li Er looked around and found that there were quite a few generals, but the young and the old could not take charge of each other, so they could only choose the tallest among the shortest. His eyes passed over Li Chongyi, Qu Tushou, Yin Qiao, and Chai Zhewei. Li Chongyi was Li Xiaogong's.
The son, the royal relative, can be used. It feels more secure to stay with you and just pass by.
Qu Tushou was the eldest son of Qu Tutong. He was brave, good at fighting, loyal and useful. Yin Qiao was the son of Yin Kaishan, and Chai Zhewei was the son of Chai Shao. They were both generals. They were not weak in military force and knew the art of war.
After some weighing, Li Er solemnly said: "Chai Zhewei is the leader, Qu Tushou is the deputy, and he leads 20,000 troops. They follow the Tibetan army and choose the opportunity to delay their actions."
"Follow the order!" The two of them solemnly agreed with fists clasped and their eyes wild.
Li Er reminded with some worry: "This is the first time that you two have led the army alone, but you need to be safe, cautious, and think twice before acting rashly."
"I obey!" The two agreed wholeheartedly, full of confidence and eager to give it a try.
After finally waiting for the opportunity, I naturally want to make some achievements and reproduce the glory of my ancestors.
Li Eryi saw the attitude of the two people and became more and more worried, but there was no other more suitable candidate in his account, so he could only do this.
Inexplicably, I sighed in my heart, hoping that nothing would happen.